I’m constantly on the lookout for new recipes, and one of my favorite sources is the little catalog King Arthur Flour sends me on a regular basis. While their recipes are quite good, since they sell flour and just about anything else a baker could ever use, they tend to sprinkle their recipes liberally with King Arthur Flour products. In this particular recipe, for instance, they call for “Olive Artisan Bread Flavor,” “King Arthur Easy-Roll Dough Improver,” and “King Arthur Baker’s Special Dry Milk.” Now, in their defense, every product of theirs I’ve ever tried has been top quality and produced great results. Since I shop at the Lowe’s “super” market, and they’re fresh out of any of the King Arthur Flour line of baking goods, I have to improvise. While the result may not taste exactly like King Arthur wants it to, I’ve been able to make some absolutely wonderful breads without all the products they suggest! In this recipe for Olive Flatbread, I really had to get outside the box with my thinking, but the bread has become a favorite of ours, and I think you’ll enjoy it as well.

Ingredients:

3 ¼ cups all purpose flour

5 large jalapeno-stuffed olives

2 tablespoons of the liquid from the olive jar

1 ½ teaspoons dry yeast

1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons dry milk

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup lukewarm water

Process:

Stir yeast into the warm water and set aside for at least 5 minutes

Pulse the 5 large jalapeno-stuffed olives in a food processor until reduced to a relish consistency

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt, and dry milk

When the 5 minutes is up on the yeast mixture, pour it into the dry mixture, add the processed olives, the olive oil and the oil from the olive jar

Mix thoroughly, and then turn the dough out onto an oiled surface and knead for about 5 minutes

Place the kneaded dough into a large, oiled mixing bowl, cover, and let rise for about an hour and a half

Gently deflate the dough, turn it out onto a lightly oiled piece of parchment paper, and shape into a 10 inch by 12 inch oval

Brush lightly with olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt or Kosher salt, and cut 4 or 5 slits in the dough, going all the way through to the parchment paper. Using your fingers, open the slits you have cut about two inches so they will stay open during the next rise

Cover the dough and allow it to rise another 30-45 minutes

Place your baking stone in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees

When the second rise is complete, use a large baker’s peel to transfer the dough to the baking stone

Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until golden brown; remove and allow to cool on a wire rack

Now, for those of you who may not have a baker’s peel and/or a baking stone, you can use a large, flat metal baking sheet instead; just be sure to oil the surface of the baking sheet to prevent sticking. Also, instead of adding them to the dough mixture, you may sprinkle the processed olives over the top of the loaf either before or after baking.

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